Personally, I’m more of a gripper than a thrower when it comes to frustration-based controller behaviour. But if you’re one of those players prone to high-velocity gamepad tossing in moments of blind video game rage, perhaps you’ll think twice in the future after hearing how Valve’s shrieky new Steam Controller responds.
Yup, those lucky enough to have secured a new Steam Controller amid the initial rush are starting to receive their orders. And some – presumably quite clumsy – recipients have noticed a fun little Easter egg included this time: drop the controller from high enough to register an impact and it’ll let out the legendary Wilhelm scream – beloved of Hollywood studios (and more recently, video game designers) since its debut in 1951 movie Distant Drums.
It’s not entirely clear which furious/careless soul first made and shared the discovery with the internet, but at least one player has documented the Steam Controller’s startled yelps over on YouTube. But, of course, in the spirit of scientific curiosity and journalistic veracity, I too was compelled to try it myself – and, well, consider it verified.
It appears the easter egg only triggers while Steam is in Big Picture mode, and you’ll obviously need to make sure your controller’s turned on – unless Valve’s somehow shipped you a haunted one. In which case you’ve probably got bigger concerns than a Wilhelm scream.
After a brief bit of experimentation, it seems you can trigger your Steam Controller’s howls of high-velocity horror fairly reliably by dropping in from around three feet onto the floor or, more wisely, couch cushion (I assume it’ll also be triggered by high-speed horizontal impact, but it’ll take a braver person to test that out). I’ve seen suggestions there’s only a random chance of it triggering, but I managed to provoke a scream considerably more often than not. Harrowing.
Of course, if you want to torment an £85 Steam Controller yourself, you might have to wait a bit given Valve’s initial stock sold out almost immediately – although the company quickly released a statement confirming it was “working on getting more in stock and will have an update on expected timeline soon.”
As for the controller itself, it’s a substantial improvement over its much-loved (by me at least) predecessor. Although after using it for a week, I couldn’t help feeling its best use cases – thanks to its slightly uncomfortable thumb stick placement – are still probably a bit niche. You can read my full Steam Controller early impressions elsewhere on Eurogamer, and, boy, am I kicking myself for not lobbing it across the room sooner.
